Dalai Lama Quotations

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.

Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of Universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life.

Open your arms to change but don't let go of your values.

Sleep is the best meditation.

Love is the absence of judgment.

Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that's very important for good health.

Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.

All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.

Logically, harmony must come from the heart... Harmony very much based on trust. As soon as use force, creates fear. Fear and trust cannot go together.

Whether you call it Buddhism or another religion, self-discipline, that's important. Self-discipline with awareness of consequences.

If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.

We all have to live together, so we might as well live together happily.

The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual's own reason and critical analysis.

When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, 'Oh yes - I already have everything that I really need.'

My main concern is meeting with public because my main commitment, main interest is promotion of human value, human affection, compassion and religious harmony.

It is difficult to violently suppress people in the long run, as the example of the Soviet Union and the Eastern European countries has shown.

We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.

With realization of one's own potential and self-confidence in one's ability, one can build a better world.

Generally speaking, if a human being never shows anger, then I think something's wrong. He's not right in the brain.

Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.

Some scientists believe climate change is the cause of unprecedented melting of the North Pole, and that effects these very uncertain weather patterns. I think we should listen to those scientists and experts.

The important thing is that men should have a purpose in life. It should be something useful, something good.

All religions try to benefit people, with the same basic message of the need for love and compassion, for justice and honesty, for contentment. So merely changing formal religious affiliations will often not help much. On the other hand, in pluralistic, democratic societies, there is the freedom to adopt the religion of your choice. This is good. This lets curious people like you run around on the loose!

In order to become prosperous, a person must initially work very hard, so he or she has to sacrifice a lot of leisure time.

Today different ethnic groups and different nations come together due to common sense.

As a human being, anger is a part of our mind. Irritation also part of our mind. But you can do - anger come, go. Never keep in your sort of - your inner world, then create a lot of suspicion, a lot of distrust, a lot of negative things, more worry.

The best way to resolve any problem in the human world is for all sides to sit down and talk.

The Chinese government wants me to say that for many centuries Tibet has been part of China. Even if I make that statement, many people would just laugh. And my statement will not change past history. History is history.

I have always had this view about the modern education system: we pay attention to brain development, but the development of warmheartedness we take for granted.

The basic Buddhist stand on the question of equality between the genders is age-old. At the highest tantric levels, at the highest esoteric level, you must respect women: every woman.

Open-minded people tend to be interested in Buddhism because Buddha urged people to investigate things - he didn't just command them to believe.

My main hope is eventually, in modern education field, introduce education about warm-heartedness, not based on religion, but based on common experience and a common sort of sense, and then scientific finding.

I think the self-burning itself on practice of non-violence. These people, you see, they easily use bomb explosive, more casualty people. But they didn't do that. Only sacrifice their own life. So this also is part of practice of non-violence.

I describe myself as a simple Buddhist monk. No more, no less.

I always believe the rule by king or official leader is outdated. Now we must catch up with the modern world.

When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.

Even when a person has all of life's comforts - good food, good shelter, a companion - he or she can still become unhappy when encountering a tragic situation.

I totally disagree with the view that the Tibet struggle will die, and there will be no hope for Tibet, after the Dalai Lama passes away.

In most cases, my visits to the West are for promotion of human values and religious harmony.

I have done one thing that I think is a contribution: I helped Buddhist science and modern science combine. No other Buddhist has done that. Other lamas, I don't think they ever pay attention to modern science. Since my childhood, I have a keen interest.

If you have a particular faith or religion, that is good. But you can survive without it.

Even when we have physical hardships, we can be very happy.

Some mischievous people always there. Last several thousand years, always there. In future, also.

Conversion is not my intention. Changing religion is not easy. You may develop some kind of confusion or difficulties.

Wherever I go meeting the public... spreading a message of human values, spreading a message of harmony, is the most important thing.

The Dalai Lama is just a temporal leader of Tibet.

I am sometimes sad when I hear the personal stories of Tibetan refugees who have been tortured or beaten. Some irritation, some anger comes. But it never lasts long. I always try to think at a deeper level, to find ways to console.

If you have religious faith, very good, you can add on secular ethics, then religious belief, add on it, very good. But even those people who have no interest about religion, okay, it's not religion, but you can train through education.

Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion.

I think really, China, Chinese, I think they really have a long history of civilization, rich culture.

Home is where you feel at home and are treated well.

Because of lack of moral principle, human life becomes worthless. Moral principle, truthfulness, is a key factor. If we lose that, then there is no future.

My faith helps me overcome such negative emotions and find my equilibrium.

Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.

I am confident I will set foot again in Tibet in my lifetime.

Physical comforts cannot subdue mental suffering, and if we look closely, we can see that those who have many possessions are not necessarily happy. In fact, being wealthy often brings even more anxiety.

Even an animal, if you show genuine affection, gradually trust develops... If you always showing bad face and beating, how can you develop friendship?

Of course, when I say that human nature is gentleness, it is not 100 percent so. Every human being has that nature, but there are many people acting against their nature, being false.

I became the Dalai Lama not on a volunteer basis.

If some people have the belief or view that the Dalai Lama has some miracle power, that's totally nonsense.

There are techniques of Buddhism, such as meditation, that anyone can adopt. And, of course, there are Christian monks and nuns who already use Buddhist methods in order to develop their devotion, compassion, and ability to forgive.

I always say that people should not rush to change religions. There is real value in finding the spiritual resources you need in your home religion.

Out of 6 billion humans, the troublemakers are just a handful.

As long as I am alive, I am fully committed to amity between Tibetans and Chinese. Otherwise there's no use.

I consider myself as a free spokesman for the people.

Appearance is something absolute, but reality is not that way - everything is interdependent, not absolute.

I feel exhausted if I teach too long.

I think technology really increased human ability, but technology cannot produce compassion.

I never dreamt, in my dream, I'm Dalai Lama.

I felt we must separate political responsibility. The Dalai Lama should not carry that burden. So that is my selfish reason - to protect the old Dalai Lama tradition. It is safer without political involvement.

China has to go along with world trends. That's democracy, liberty, individual freedom. China sooner or later has to go that way. It cannot go backward.

At the beginning when the child is coming, people worry the child may be deformed. When a healthy boy or child comes, people are very happy for a short moment.

There are techniques of Buddhism, such as meditation, that anyone can adopt.

My desire to devolve authority has nothing to do with a wish to shirk responsibility.

Number of people have said to me, after hearing your thinking, their mind becomes much more happier.

I think there's every reason this 21st century will be much happier.

I am a simple Buddhist monk - no more, no less.

I don't think generally politician come from democratic country. I think not that thinking. But sometimes little bit short-sighted. They are mainly looking for their next vote.

One thing I want to make clear, as far as my own rebirth is concerned, the final authority is myself and no one else, and obviously not China's Communists.

I want to be just a pure spiritual leader.

World belongs to humanity, not this leader, that leader or that king or prince or religious leader. World belongs to humanity.

If I had remained in Lhasa, even without the Chinese occupation, I would probably have carried the ceremonial role in some orthodox way.

The Tibetan people will need to determine who the next reincarnation of the Dalai Lama is.

If an individual has a calm state of mind, that person's attitudes and views will be calm and tranquil even in the presence of great agitation.

I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. That is clear. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we all are seeking something better in life. So, I think, the very motion of our life is towards happiness

I believe violence will only increase the cycle of violence.

China is a part of this world and cannot escape this global change,

China still practices harsh measures and policies towards Tibetan people. I met many educated people from Tibet who voiced their grievances to me and they all say the same thing.

Some kind of cultural genocide is taking place. In general, a railway link is very useful in order to develop, but not when politically motivated to bring about demographic change.

We need political solution, that the best way is genuine self rule. That I feel (is) mutually agreeable solution,

Time is always moving. The important thing is to learn from the past and then look forward to the future.

You have to accept reality. This has helped me come closer to reality.

The greater the level of calmness of our mind, the greater our peace of mind, the greater our ability to enjoy a happy and joyful life.

If scientific analysis were conclusively to demonstrate certain claims in Buddhism to be false, then we must accept the findings of science and abandon those claims.

In Buddhism, ignorance as the root cause of suffering refers to a fundamental misperception of the true nature of the self and all phenomena.

Each individual has a universal responsibility to shape institutions to serve human needs.

Irrespective of whether we are believers or agnostics, whether we believe in God or karma, moral ethics is a code which everyone is able to pursue.

Non-violence means dialogue, using our language, the human language. Dialogue means compromise; respecting each other’s rights; in the spirit of reconciliation there is a real solution to conflict and disagreement. There is no hundred percent winner, no hundred percent loser—not that way but half-and-half. That is the practical way, the only way.

The root of happiness is altruism - the wish to be of service to others.